Ceph vs OpenAFS
Ceph
ceph.ioOpenAFS
openafs.orgSide by side
| Figure | Ceph | OpenAFS |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Distributed File System Software | 8.8 (#3) | 7.7 (#15) |
| Founded | 2006 | 2000 |
| Intended users | The maker identifies SMEs, global organizations, academic institutions, startups, and developers as Ceph audiences. | The documentation describes AFS cells as suitable for organizations such as companies, university departments, or other defined groups of users. |
| License | The maker says most of Ceph is dual licensed under LGPL 2.1 or 3.0, with some bundled components under other free software licenses. | The project states that OpenAFS is distributed under the IBM Public License. |
| Support | The maker directs users to documentation, the ceph-users mailing list, community channels, and the bug tracker for help. | The project wiki points users to mailing lists, an IRC channel, and a page listing individuals and companies offering support or consulting. |
| What it does | Ceph is open-source distributed storage software that provides object, block, and file storage through one unified system. | OpenAFS is an open-source implementation of the AFS distributed filesystem for accessing network files as if they were local. |
Plans
In their own words
Ceph
Ceph is free, open-source distributed storage software for object, block, and file storage in one system. Organizations run clusters on commodity hardware that they choose and manage. Its RGW object storage supports the S3 API and Swift-compatible applications. RBD provides thin-provisioned disk images, snapshots, writable clones, and asynchronous mirroring to remote Ceph clusters. CephFS is a POSIX-compliant distributed filesystem with snapshots, quotas, and multi-cluster mirroring. The system can replicate data across devices, racks, and geographic locations, then redistribute it following hardware or connectivity failures. For Kubernetes, the project recommends Rook to run Ceph or connect an existing cluster; its CSI driver can provision block and file volumes. Installation choices include packages, container images, source clones, and tarballs. The cephadm tool requires Python 3, systemd, and Podman or Docker. Production guidance calls for at least three monitors, two managers, three OSDs, and 10 Gb/s networking between hosts. The project publishes a stable release annually and supports each series for approximately 24 months.
OpenAFS
OpenAFS is a free, open-source implementation of the AFS distributed filesystem for accessing network files as though they were local. Location transparency lets users keep the same pathname when administrators move files between machines. AFS supports federated sharing and read-only replication across file servers, while the client Cache Manager keeps files in disk or memory cache to reduce repeated network requests. Kerberos authentication uses tokens for authenticated status, and directory access control lists define user and group permissions. Clients and servers mutually authenticate, with server processes encrypting particularly sensitive information sent to clients. However, commands in the fs, pts, and vos suites do not encrypt data before transmission. OpenAFS supports Linux, macOS, Windows, and self-hosted deployment, with AFS access plus NFS and SMB/CIFS options listed. The project lists version 1.8.16.1 as a June 2026 UNIX/Linux maintenance release and distributes it under the IBM Public License. Administrators assign each AFS volume a size limit or quota.